“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw

Saturday, 13 October 2012

Master Paper Maker Visit

Mr W, kindly took me to visit a master paper maker yesterday morning. It's one thing to make paper in the comparatively clinical setting of a museum or paper research facility, but just look at this man's workshop and accompanying environment, I feel like I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of how important Washi Making is to the area of Mino. He had piles of handmade paper, representing hours of labor, hours of movement, laying down fibres onto a bamboo screen. I'm in awe of some artisans, artisans like this. I wish sometimes, I could have settled on the life of repetition, the rhythm of making craft for a living...the continuation of a tradition, which for me anyway, comes at the cost of true creative freedom.....Anyway, please enjoy the photos, I felt privileged to have seen such sights with un-'internetted' eyes...g